EuroTrash Monday!

Omega Pharma – Quick-Step showed they are still the King’s of the Team Time Trial, but not by much (0.81 of a second). Lots of race news; World Championships, Tour of Britain finale and GP’s from all over the place, of course we have the video action and the results in a very full EuroTrash Monday. All set, get the coffee and a couple of biscuits and we’re off!

TOP STORY: Ex-Vacansoleil Team Saved?
There has been a mix of reports and rumour about the soon to be defunct Vacansoleil-DCM team, the only sure thing is that both of the main sponsors will not be sponsoring the WorldTour team after the end of the year.

Last week it was reported that one of the team’s DS’s Hilaire Van der Schueren has some sponsors and money to run a ProConti team next year, but would need more money to keep some of his top riders. Björn Leukemans. Thomas De Gendt and Marco Marcato were mentioned as the riders he wanted to have in his team, but would need the money to pay them. Van der Schueren is of the old school and a well respected figure in the sport and is known for his in-depth experience and straight talking, if he says it, then it’s true.

Since that news came out it was announced that Accent Jobs would not be co-sponsoring their team with Wanty next year and that Van der Schueren would be bringing his money to combine the remainder of his old team with the ex-Accent Jobs-Wanty set up for next year. According to the Belgian French speaking radio/television station RTBF it’s a done deal for a year with a soon to be announced Walloon based sponsor.

Along with the saving (or not) of the Euskaltel-Euskadi team maybe thing are not looking so bad for next year. Also with the loss of the Vacansoleil-DCM team from the WorldTour it saves face for the UCI as Katusha will have their rightful place without having to go to CAS this time…let’s hope.

World Team Time Trial Championships
Elite Men TTT:
The closest of battles between Omega Pharma – Quick-Step and Orica-GreenEdge finished with the Belgian team taking the World championships by the slimmest of margins; 0.81 of a second.

How the World Team Time Trial Unfolded
Rabobank Development Team set the early fastest time with 1:08:45 to go into the hot seat until the WorldTour team started to come home. Vacansoleil-DCM was the first to beat the young Rabobank riders, by 50 seconds, but Lotto Belisol soon out rode them by 37 seconds. Cannondale showed they were up for a fight as they posted the fastest times at all the intermediate points and were next to take the hot seat.

Astana and then RadioShack Leopard ramped up the speed to take the lead while BMC looked to be struggling to get amongst the podium hopefuls; Sky, Orica-GreenEdge and reigning champions Omega Pharma – Quick-Step. Sky took 1 minute out of RadioShack Leopard for the lead, but the battle was out on the road between OPQS and Orica.

The Belgian and Australian teams were neck and neck through all the time checks as BMC came in slower than Sky and had to face 4th place. Orica-GreenEdge was 20 seconds faster than Sky for the new top place, but at the line; Omega Pharma – Quick-Step just shaded it by 0.81 of a second to the visible disappointment and disbelief of the members of the Orica-GreenEdge team.

“It was really one hour a block,” Tony Martin said. “Especially in the final 10 kilometres. We took a few risks, sped it up because we knew we were a few seconds behind. We took the risk that we could either blow up or gain some time and we held the speed until the finish. We also took some risks in the corners. We were a second down in the last intermediate and we knew one corner can be the difference. So we just took the risk. We knew the corners perfectly. We made good preparation going into today, so we can also say it’s really a win for the whole team. The sport directors who prepared us for the race today are included in this, especially in the last kilometres. The last intermediate time gap killed our morale a little bit, seeing the first gaps and then being down on Orica-GreenEdge going into the final kilometres. but we had sport directors in the car who built up our motivation again. Then we just gave everything, full risks in the last 10 kilometres. At the end, it was enough. I think we won it with the big morale in the final. I think it is the same for the other riders on the team. In the last few hundred meters Tom Steels said ‘go go go, take everything, you can be world champion’ and I think that gave us the last percentage of motivation to put all our power into the pedals. Sometimes one sentence can make the difference.”

“For me it was really important to win this race,” Sylvain Chavanel said. “It doesn’t matter if we win by a second, two seconds, or even half a second. If we didn’t win this race, I would have been disappointed because Orica-GreenEdge beat us by less than a second at the Tour de France. It is kind of a revenge, this victory. I think this kind of big fight between teams, like a rivalry, is big for the sport of cycling. It is really amazing and something that makes our sport bigger and better.”

“I can’t complain about how things went today,” said Orica-GreenEdge DS Matt White. “We can’t fault anyone. If we had gone nine-hundredths of a second faster, we would be world champions today. To be so close to winning a world title over an hour effort is a little disappointing,” White admitted. “Sometimes it’s easier to swallow when it’s a bigger margin. We know what it’s like to win by such a small margin, too. We just edged out Quick-Step at the Tour. Today they turned the tables on us. Omega Pharma-Quick-Step was the team to beat today,” White added. “We knew our strength was depth in numbers. We came here to win, and we followed the plan we developed to achieve that goal. The boys stuck to the plan. They left their egos at home and did what they needed to do. I can’t ask for anything more than that.”

Before the race Taylor Phinney and the whole team were confident about their pre-race investments. “We were quite confident before the race, we did a lot of preparations and we had the whole team behind us”, Phinney said. “The whole staff, mechanics, soigneurs, everybody had a full support in us. So we are quite disappointed with the fourth place.” The minimum four riders (Steve Cummings, Taylor Phinney, Michael Schär and Tejay van Garderen) came to the finish line together to stop the clock at one hour, five minutes and 19 seconds with an average speed of 52,5 km/h. An outcome that wasn’t expected said BMC Racing Team Assistant Director Max Sciandri. “The human investment was big. This afternoon we were ready to give 100 percent what we did”, he said. “The outcome wasn’t as expected and we never really got into the race. But the boys gave everything, they fought until the end.” For the second year in-a-row Omega Pharma-Quick Step won gold with 0,81 seconds ahead of Orica GreenEdge and 22,55 seconds ahead of Sky Procycling. “We came here with expectations”, BMC Racing Team President/General Manager Jim Ochowicz said. “Getting fourth is not something anyone of us thought about. It is a surprise but it happens. It wasn’t a good race for us obviously but from now on we have to think what we can do better.”

Elite Men TTT Result:
1. Omega Pharma – Quick-Step in 1:04:16.74
2. Orica-GreenEdge at 0:00.81
3. Sky at 0:22.55
4. BMC at 1:02.71
5. RadioShack Leopard Trek at 1:17.53
6. Astana at 1:21.14
7. Cannondale at 1:28.74
8. Garmin-Sharp at 2:01.94
9. Saxo-Tinkoff at 2:14.17
10. Movistar at 2:31.03.

The Elite Men TTT:

Elite Women TTT:
The Specialized-Lululemon team covered the 42.7 kilometres course at an average speed of over 50 kph, returning a time of 51:10 to take their second World title. Second was the Rabo Women’s team at 1:11 and Orica-AIS were third at 1:33.

Trixi Worrack, Eleonora Van Dijk, Evelyn Stevens, Carmen Small, Katie Colclough and Lisa Brennauer led from the start and at all the intermediate time checks and through the technical finishing kilometres in Florence they didn’t lose a beat and comfortably crossed the line for the World title.

Specialized-Lululemon team rider Evelyn Stevens said: “It’s so special, there’s no other event in cycling where all six teammates can go on the podium together. You really feel like a unit. Last year was special, and having had that experience, knowing how amazing it is made us want it even more. I’m so happy to have it in the world championships.” She added: “At the first time check we only had two seconds on Orica, and at the second we had 40, but I think some of us thought it was 14. We put a fair amount of time in at the end. We had a plan and we were able to deliver. The first part was flat and all about aerodynamics, about keeping up the speed – some people took longer pulls, some took shorter ones but the speed was always there. Then in the technical section we had Lisa, Trixi and Ellen do the corners at the front, and Katie, Carmen and I sat on, which worked out well because then we could take some longer turns at the end. We’re all so strong, there wasn’t a weak link. All of us were up there pulling hard. Sometimes if you feel you’re dropping the speed, so you just pull off.”

Emma Johansson of the third placed Orica-AIS team commented on the team crash the previous day when training: “We had a small crash in training yesterday in the technical part. Shara went down and took a couple of other girls down. Luckily nobody got hurt since it wasn’t at high speed. It can get into your head, but it wasn’t because of that that we didn’t get first or second today.” As to the team’s that beat him: “We just have to congratulate the other two teams who were stronger today. I know Lululemon has been awesome all year, and I knew we had a chance, but they were stronger and faster.”

“We have to be happy with the result,” said Orica-AIS Sport Director Dave McPartland. “The girls got a bronze medal at the World Championships. The most impressive part is they all gave 100%. I can’t sit here and say: ‘What if we had done this? or What if we had done that?’ They all did everything they could.”

Elite Women TTT Result:
1. Specialized-Lululemon in 51:10.69
2. Rabo Women Cycling Team at 1:11.09
3. Orica-AIS at 1:33.83
4. Rusvelo at 2:02.31
5. Mcipollini-Giordana at 2:18.83
6. Wiggle-Honda at 2:33.00
7. Argos-Shimano at 2:50.51
8. Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies at 3:03.44
9. Sengers Ladies Cycling Team at 3:05.80
10. Boels Dolmans Cycling Team at 3:33.70.

Woman’s TTT highlights:

Tour of Britain 2013
Stage 5 on Thursday had the climbers doing their stuff and Sam Bennett (An Post-Chainreaction) showed the likes of Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and Dan Martin (Garmin-Sharp) how to finish off a stage.

Bennett knew the final of the stage in the Caerphilly Mountains and played crafty, holding back in the select head group to make the winning jump on the last bend before the finish. Sky’s Bardley Wiggins holds his 37 second lead over team mate Ian Stannard and Martin Elmiger (IAM Cycling).

Second on the stage Michal Golas (Omega Pharma – Quick-Step): “I didn’t do any mistakes, and it went well in the final,” Golas said. “I was in a good gear, and when we came out from the corner I was in the 2nd position. I started sprinting and everything was perfect, but suddenly Bennett came from behind and passed with more speed than me. It was simply him being too fast. It’s a pity because I was targeting this stage and I was looking for my first win of the season. But OK, the condition is there for sure. Tomorrow’s stage is a bit more hilly than today, but we will do our best for another good result. Now I am 5th in the GC as well, so I must defend a bit my position.”

Tour of Britain Stage 5 Result:
1. Sam Bennett (Irl) An Post-Chainreaction in 4:35:29
2. Michal Golas (Pol) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step
3. Martin Elmiger (Swi) IAM Cycling
4. David Lelay (Fra) Sojasun
5. Jack Bauer (NZl) Garmin-Sharp
6. Simon Yates (GB) Great Britain
7. Bradley Wiggins (GB) Sky Procycling
8. Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) IAM Cycling
9. Ian Stannard (GB) Sky
10. Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Col) Movistar.

Tour of Britain Overall After Stage 5:
1. Bradley Wiggins (GB) Sky in 20:47:05
2. Ian Stannard (GB) Sky at 0:37
3. Martin Elmiger (Swi) IAM Cycling at 0:43
4. Jack Bauer (NZl) Garmin-Sharp at 0:55
5. Michal Golas (Pol) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step at 1:12
6. David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Sky at 1:17
7. Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Spa) MTN-Qhubeka at 1:18
8. Simon Yates (GB) Great Britain at 1:23
9. Daniel Martin (Irl) Garmin-Sharp at 1:38
10. Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) IAM Cycling at 1:44.

Stage 5:

Young British hope for the future; Simon Yates (Great Britain) won Stage 6 from the man who is trying very hard to win this Tour of Britain; Martin Elmiger (IAM Cycling). Yates was with the GC group as it hit the 6 kilometre summit finish of Haytor, the top men were jumping on the climb, including; Stefano Pirazzi (Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox), Dan Martin (Garmin-Sharp) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar). Yates watched as David Lopez (Sky) chase down the attackers for his team leader Bradley Wiggins before unleashing his attack for the stage win ahead Martin Elmiger (IAM Cycling) and Lopez.

Bradley Wiggins (Sky) is now leading by 32 seconds from the very active Martin Elmiger (IAM Cycling) and Simon Yates (Great Britain) at 1:06 with two stages to go.

Tour of Britain Stage 6 Result:
1. Simon Yates (GB) Great Britain in 3:23:43
2. Martin Elmiger (Swi) IAM Cycling at 0:02
3. David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Sky
4. Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Spa) MTN-Qhubeka at 0:05
5. Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) IAM Cycling
6. Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Col) Movistar at 0:10
7. Bradley Wiggins (GB) Sky
8. Francesco Manuel Bongiorno (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox at 0:12
9. Marcel Wyss (Swi) IAM Cycling
10. Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Sojasun at 0:31.

Tour of Britain Overall After Stage 6:
1. Bradley Wiggins (GB) Sky in 24:10:56
2. Martin Elmiger (Swi) IAM Cycling at 0:32
3. Simon Yates (GB) Great Britain at 1:06
4. David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Sky at 1:08
5. Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Spa) MTN-Qhubeka at 1:16
6. Jack Bauer (NZl) Garmin-Sharp at 1:19
7. Ian Stannard (GB) Sky at 1:34
8. Michal Golas (Pol) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step at 1:36
9. Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) IAM Cycling at 1:42
10. Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Col) Movistar at 1:56.

Stage 6:

Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma – Quick-Step) took his second stage win of this year’s Tour of Britain on Saturday’s Stage 7. Cavendish’s new lead out man Alessandro Petacchi put the pressure on in the last kilometre and splitting the peloton and causing the other sprint hopefuls to chase. Cavendish made his move early with just under half a kilometre to go and it looked like Elia Viviani (Cannondale) would pass the flying Manxman, but Cav held the Italian and Gerald Ciolek (MTN-Qhubeka) at bay.

Earlier in the day a break of four managed a maximum lead of around 3 minutes, they were; Lucas Euser (UnitedHealthcare), Kristian House (Rapha Condor JLT), Christophe Laborie (Sojasun) and Peter Williams (IG-Sigma Sport). Sky didn’t let them get too far away and then Omega Pharma – Quick-Step and Cannondale pulled them back in time for the sprint.

“With four riders in the breakaway, we knew we had a chance to control and try to go for the win,” Sport Director Brian Holm said. “Cannondale worked with us all day. Petacchi did a great lead out, but Viviani came on very strong in the final meters. The sprint was almost too long, but Cav had a second acceleration. I know the sprint from last year — when Cav also won — and it’s a very hard sprint. I have to say Mark is in good shape because to beat Viviani and Ciolek on the cobblestones and on an uphill sprint, you have to be in good condition. But the guys also did a great job getting him to the sprint. They worked on the front all day. I’m happy about the team and our attitude here at Tour of Britain. Tomorrow we will give it a try again, this time in London.”

“Today was a beautiful stage, I really enjoyed riding it,” Cavendish said. “The team did a great job controlling the race from the beginning. The guys controlled with five riders pulling for the sprint. Julien Vermote, Iljo Keisse, and Martin Velits were on the front all day, and then Michal Golas and Alessandro Petacchi did great work in the final. I’m really proud of them. Heading into the sprint, they rode so hard they did some damage in the peloton from putting on the pressure. Then inside the last kilometre, Peta led me out as usual. I went probably a bit too long, last year I did the same thing as well. I saw Viviani was coming up on me so I had to do the second kick to pass him again. I am really happy because it was a good move and a good sprint, especially since it wasn’t so easy being uphill and on the cobbles. I am happy about it and looking forward to the next stages.”

The overall stayed the same with Bradley Wiggins (Sky) leading by 26 seconds from Martin Elmiger (IAM Cycling) and 1:06 from Simon Yates (Great Britain) with the last 88 kilometre stage in London on Sunday.

Tour of Britain Stage 7 Result:
1. Mark Cavendish (GB) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step in 3:46:57
2. Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale
3. Gerald Ciolek (Ger) MTN-Qhubeka
4. Blaz Jarc (Slo) Team NetApp-Endura
5. Jacob Rathe (USA) Garmin-Sharp
6. Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) IAM Cycling
7. Chris Opie (GB) Team UK Youth
8. Martin Elmiger (Swi) IAM Cycling
9. Alessandro Bazzana (Ita) UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team
10. Sam Bennett (Irl) An Post-Chainreaction.

Tour of Britain Overall After Stage 7:
1. Bradley Wiggins (GB) Sky in 27:57:59
2. Martin Elmiger (Swi) IAM Cycling at 0:26
3. Simon Yates (GB) Great Britain at 1:06
4. David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Sky at 1:08
5. Sergio Pardilla Bellon (Spa) MTN-Qhubeka at 1:16
6. Jack Bauer (NZl) Garmin-Sharp at 1:19
7. Ian Stannard (GB) Sky at 1:34
8. Michal Golas (Pol) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step at 1:36
9. Sébastien Reichenbach (Swi) IAM Cycling at 1:42
10. Nairo Alexander Quintana Rojas (Col) Movistar at 1:56.

Stage 7:

Mark Cavendish (Omega Pharma – Quick-Step) took yet another stage for a hat-trick of wins in this year’s Tour of Britain. In the final 88 kilometre London Stage 8, Cavendish’s team mates took him into the final metres of the stage for the British champion to unleash his sprint beating young Sam Bennett (An Post-Chainreaction) and Elia Viviani (Cannondale).

A 6 man break: Angel Madrazo Ruiz (Movistar), Shane Archbold (An Post-Chainreaction), Peter Williams (Team IG-Sigma Sport), Jack Bauer (Garmin-Sharp), Andreas Schillinger (Team NetApp-Endura) and Sergio Pardilla (MTN-Qhubeka) dominated most of the stage and seconds gained moved Jack Bauer up to fifth overall and Angel Madrazo consolidated his sprint and KOM jerseys.

“I’m really happy and proud,” Cavendish said. “It’s always nice to win here in front of my British supporters. The stage was as we expected it to be. The race was really fast. We had support of other teams to control and we took things into our hands in the last laps. Once again the team was super strong! Martin Velits and Julien Vermote worked hard as usual. Michal Golas and Iljo Keisse did a great job in the last kilometers. The lead out was also perfect once again. Petacchi also led me really well. He always stays calm and waits for the right moment. He went super fast into the second to last corner and then he led me well into the final corner. I only had to worry about my sprint. So, I am very happy. It was great to ride with him for the first time. We won three stages with him as my leadout, so I am really happy. Now I just want to say congratulations to team in Italy, who became the world champions today. They did a great race and we are all reading about it and happy for them.”

Sky’s Bradley Wigging finished in the bunch to take the overall.

Wiggin’s said after the finish: “At the most, it’s just about relief. It was only a 26-second lead so a crash outside of the final 3km; and all those little things. It was just a relief. From the moment I won the time trial though, I thought I could win the GC, but it wasn’t ever really over.”

Tour of Britain Stage 8 Result:
1. Mark Cavendish (GB) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step in 1:47:22
2. Sam Bennett (Irl) An Post-Chainreaction
3. Elia Viviani (Ita) Cannondale
4. Matteo Pelucchi (Ita) IAM Cycling
5. Chris Opie (GB) Team UK Youth
6. Evaldas Siskevicius (Ltu) Sojasun
7. Sacha Modolo (Ita) Bardiani Valvole-CSF Inox
8. Alessandro Petacchi (Ita) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step
9. Enrique Sanz (Spa) Movistar
10. Blaz Jarc (Slo) Team NetApp-Endura.

Tour of Britain Final Overall Result:
1. Bradley Wiggins (GB) Sky in 29:45:22
2. Martin Elmiger (Swi) IAM Cycling at 0:26
3. Simon Yates (GB) Great Britain at 1:03
4. David Lopez Garcia (Spa) Sky at 1:08
5. Jack Bauer (NZl) Garmin Sharp at 1:13
6. Sergio Pardilla (Spa) MTN Qhubeka at 1:16
7. Ian Stannard (GB) Sky at 1:34
8. Sebastien Reichenbach (Swi) IAM Cycling at 1:42
9. Michal Golas (Pol) Omega Pharma – Quick-Step at 1:46
10. Marcel Wyss (Swi) IAM Cycling at 1:57.

The final stage 8:

Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen/Championship of Flanders 2013
Jens Debusschere has won the Championship of Flanders on Friday, his first victory as a pro! It was the 98th edition of this race in Koolskamp. The riders had to cover sixteen local laps, a total distance of 192 kilometers. It was a fast start. In the first hour 49.4 kilometres were covered. After many attempts of among others Vegard Breen and Kris Boeckmans, these four riders got ahead: Tim Declercq, Christopher Juul Jensen, Pim Ligthart and Floris Smeyers.

In the peloton Lotto Belisol controlled the pace together with Argos Shimano, who had Marcel Kittel in the selection. The leaders got up to a three minute gap. Together they entered the final lap. Juul Jensen survived the longest. A late attack by Kris Boeckmans couldn’t avoid a bunch sprint. After great preparatory work by the team Jens Debusschere was the strongest of the pack before Baptiste Planckaert and Michael Van Staeyen. It was the 25th victory for Lotto Belisol this season.

Jens Debusschere: “I’m very happy with my first victory as a pro. I had been close a few times, now I finally succeeded. It’s very pleasant to win again, it has been a while. The fact that I won a bunch sprint, makes it even more special. I couldn’t be happier. When I was standing on the podium I realized what I had achieved. After the finish people shout to you, but then the interviews follow quickly. On the podium you have a moment to yourself. It’s also nice that this is the Championship of Flanders and you get a jersey at the end. It’s a fun extra.”

“It was a pretty simple race to control. Argos Shimano and we took the lead of the bunch and kept the leaders within a reasonable distance. About four laps from the end the tempo rose. On a certain part of the route there was crosswind and then there’s always a danger for echelons, so you had to keep in front all the time. But for the rest it was pretty easy in the run-up to the sprint. Kenny Dehaes and Jorne Carolus led me to the sprint and as foreseen Jonas Van Genechten was my last man.”

Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen Result:
1. Jens Debusschere (Bel) Lotto Belisol in 4:25:31
2. Baptiste Plackaert (Bel) Crelan-Euphony
3. Michael Van Staeyen (Bel) Topsport Vlaanderen-Baloise
4. Jonathan Cantwell (Aus) Saxo-Tinkoff
5. Wesley Kreder (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM
6. Timothy Dupont (Bel) Ventilair-Steria Cycling Team
7. Steffen Radochla (Ger) Euskaltel-Euskadi
8. Romain Feillu (Fra) Vacansoleil-DCM
9. Darijus Dzervus (Ltu) Doltcini-Flanders
10. Wouter Mol (Ned) Vacansoleil-DCM.

Photo: Kampioenschap van Vlaanderen.

GP Impanis – Van Petegem 2013
The Belkin Pro Cycling Team’s Sep Vanmarcke took revenge and won in the GP Impanis Van Petegem today. After 190 kilometres, he beat fellow escapee Pieter Weening (Orica-GreenEdge) in Haacht, Belgium. The win comes just one week after the Belgian escaped but lost by millimetres to Bert De Backer (Argos-Shimano) in the GP Jef Scherens.

“The fact that I couldn’t finish it off last week makes this win extra nice,” Vanmarcke said. “I didn’t expect this because I had a bit of cold this week. However, I got better and better during the race.” Vanmarcke took control in the last two kilometres and kept a high pace. “I was preventing the others from coming back,” he added. “With five hundred metres to go, I slowed down and waited for the sprint because I know I’m more explosive.” Vanmarcke’s win was sweeter since he was just 100 kilometres from his home in Waregem. He said with a laugh, “I will ride home by bike.”

Sports Director Frans Maassen saw the Belkin Pro Cycling Team paying attention throughout the whole race. As a result, four of his riders formed part of a 35-man escape. Vanmarcke used the group as his launch pad. “Our men did well as a team,” Maassen said. “With four men in the final group they were able to protect each other. It was an important part of Sep’s success.”

GP Impanis – Van Petegem Result:
1. Sep Vanmarcke (Bel) Belkin at 4:21:48
2. Pieter Weening (Ned) Netherlands
3. Jerome Baugnies (Bel) To Win-Josan at 0:07
4. Roy Curvers (Ned) Argos-Shimano
5. Antonio Parrinello (Ita) Androni Giocattoli-Venezuela
6. Björn Leukemans (Bel) Vacansoleil-DCM
7. Danilo Wyss (Swi) BMC
8. Tom Veelers (Ned) Argos-Shimano at 0:43
9. Tosh Van der Sande (Bel) Lotto-Belisol
10. Moreno Hofland (Ned) Belkin.

A nice bit of Retro, Raymond Impanis:

GP Costa degli Etruschi 2013
There could be no better approach to the world championship for the Lampre-Merida guys who occupied the entire podium of the GP Costa degli Etruschi: First Michele Scarponi, second Diego Ulissi and third Filippo Pozzato, all three blue riders will ride in the World championships in Florence 2013 in just over a week.

The race saw the team control any attempt right from the start with the young Valerio Conti who jumped in to the first attack of the day lasted about 30 km.

Later, a group of 6 men escaped from the peloton and commanded the race until the final circuit of Donoratico, where the attacks broke out between the captains of the teams present. Nibali. Ulissi and Sinkewitz in the first instance and Scarponi, Pozzato, Santaromita and Nocentini in the next; leading the race in a group of about 20 riders. In the final lap; the game of Lampre-Merida had the better of the competition as into the last kilometre an attack by Michele Scarponi decided the race and he finished alone. Behind him Ulissi and Pozzato left nothing to the opponents coming 2nd and 3rd respectively to complete the party for Lampre.Merida.

The words of the winner: “Today I finally managed to hit a victory for the season that I was waiting for a long time. Having reached it right now in conjunction with the convening of the Italian national is for me a source of great confidence and strength in view of the commitment of world champion next week. I have to say that my teammates; Ulissi and Pozzato are going really strong, a sign that in Lampre-Merida’s house we really prepared well for a great final of the season.”

Cunego and Conti both crashed on the last lap of the circuit in Donoratico that forced the two athletes to retire. but without major physical consequences.

GP Costa degli Etruschi Result:
1. Michele Scarponi (Ita) Lampre-Merida in 4:30:51
2. Diego Ulissi (Ita) Lampre-Merida at 0:04
3. Filippo Pozzato (Ita) Lampre-Merida
4. Rinaldo Nocentini (Ita) Italian National Team
5. Ivan Santoromita (Ita) Italian National Team
6. Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger) Meridiana Kamen
7. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana at 0:12
8. Mauro Finetto (Ita) Vini Fantini-Selle Italia at 0:57
9. Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez (Col) Androni Giocattoli
10. Daniele Ratto (Ita) Cannondale.

Action from the GP Costa degli Etruschi:

GP d’Isbergues -Pas de Calais 2013
The 200 kilometre long French one-day race, GP Isbergues was won by FDJ’s Arnaud Demare after the day was dominated by a breakaway including BMC’s Greg van Avermaet. The peloton kept the group within six minutes and at the entrance to the final 10 kilometres, the pack was all together for the final sprint.

In the bunch sprint, Arnaud Demare (FDJ) was the fastest rider and he took the win ahead of John Degenkolb (Argos-Shimano).

GP d’Isbergues – Pas de Calais Result:
1. Arnaud Démare (Fra) FDJ) in 4:34:05
2. John Degenkolb Ger) Argos-Shimano)
3. Jempy Drucker (Lux) Accent Jobs-Wanty
4. Thor Hushovd (Nor) BMC
5. Philippe Gilbert (Bel) BMC
6. Yannick Martinez (Fra) La Pomme Marseille
7. Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Ag2r-La Mondiale
8. Bryan Coquard (Fra) Europcar
9. Romain Feillu (Fra) Vacansoleil-DCM
10. Julien Simon (Fra) Sojasun.

GP d’Isbergues – Pas de Calais Report:

Tom Boonen at OPQS for 2 Years More
Belgian super-star Tom Boonen will be staying with Omega Pharma – Quick-Step for the next two years. Team manager; Patrick Lefevere told Het Nieuwsblad in an interview that his top has put pen to contract paper to the end of 2015. Lefevere said: “Next season is our twelfth together. I am honoured that Tom will one day end his career with me.” The Omega Pharma – Quick-Step team still has room to sign one more rider for next season.

British Cycling Confirms Teams for UCI Road World Championships
Press Release: British Cycling has today confirmed the elite men and women riders who will represent Great Britain at the forthcoming UCI Road World Championships, taking place in Toscana, Italy, from 22 – 29 September 2013. The U23 men’s team will be confirmed after the Tour of Britain.

This year’s Tour de France winner Chris Froome will lead a strong team which includes Sir Bradley Wiggins, Mark Cavendish, Steve Cummings, Josh Edmondson, Ian Stannard, Geraint Thomas and Jon Tiernan Locke in the men’s road race. In the women’s race, Lizzie Armitstead will be joined by current junior world champion Lucy Garner plus Katie Colclough and Nikki Harris. Emma Pooley has declined her place on the squad to focus on her PhD studies – a decision supported by British Cycling.

Performance Director Sir Dave Brailsford said: “We’ve now been able to make our final selections for both the elite men’s and women’s road races, and I’m pleased with the teams we’ve entered. Both Bradley and Alex have shown great Time Trial form this season and I know both of the guys are up for this competition. Looking at the men’s road race team, we have real strength and depth in the team, and it’s a real boost for us to have two Tour de France winners in there along with high-calibre support from the likes of Cav, Geraint, Steve and Ian. I’m looking forward to seeing what Lizzie can do out on the Worlds course given her great form at the minute, and I’m confident that Lucy, Katie and Nikki can give her the support she needs. We’ve also confirmed the Junior team for the World Championships, and they should do well on the back of their successful season, particularly Tao Geoghegan Hart who has impressed with his results in the Nations Cup. We will be able to confirm the U23 men’s team after the Tour of Britain has finished, but I know the squad are keen to round off a fantastic season for the Yates brothers. Overall, the whole team is really looking forward to getting stuck in to the racing out in Italy, and we’ve got some great opportunities across the board.”

Men’s Elite Road Race:
Mark Cavendish
Steve Cummings
Josh Edmondson
Chris Froome
Ian Stannard
Geraint Thomas
Jon Tiernan Locke
Bradley Wiggins.

Men’s Elite Time Trial:
Alex Dowsett
Bradley Wiggins.

Women’s Elite Road Race:
Lizzie Armitstead
Katie Colclough
Nikki Harris
Lucy Garner.

2013 Quebec Sprint Challenge Pro
Another episode of the Orica-GreenEdge Backstage Pass were they set a record for the shortest ever distance covered in an episode. That distance was a total of 1km after Tomas Vaitkus was eliminated in the first round of the 2013 Quebec Sprint Challenge Pro.

The PEZ NEWSWIRE!
Don’t forget to check the “NEWSWIRE” section, you can find it down the right hand side on the home page, just above the EuroTrash section. The bits of news that missed the EuroTrash deadline are in there, plus any news as-it-happens will be added there too.

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